A new book by Howard Rauch reinforces the tenets of effective
editorial management.

By William Dunkerley

Being
a manager is not always at the forefront of our minds as we churn out
issue after issue. Sure, we make assignments and manage deadlines. But
there is a larger dimension to editorial management than just that.

A
lot of editors I know give short shrift to their greater managerial
role. Most did not come into editorial work from a management
background. More common is the person who became an editor as an
extension of his or her expertise in the field covered by a publication.
Others came with an academic background in journalism or English. Not
many MBAs come out of school and set their sights on editorial
management.

I got to thinking about this matter while reading a
new book titled Get Serious about Editorial Management. It's
written by Howard Rauch, an Editors Only contributor and a
distinguished consultant in the editorial field.

He takes up an
issue that's really important right now. Our whole industry is facing
challenges that previous generations of editors never could have dreamed
of (or perhaps nightmared about)!

Readers now prefer to consume
information in radically different ways, and they are evolving at a
rapid pace. This is no time to ignore our essential role as editorial
managers. Instead that duty needs to gain prominence.

One chapter
in Rauch's book deals with common management errors. I'd like to share
with you some of what he says.

The Chronically Late Editor

One
of Rauch's points is about the procrastinator/perfectionist syndrome.
You know, it's the editor who turns out excellent work but is often late
because he finds it hard to stop polishing his article. Rauch asks, "Do
you overlook weaknesses because of the strengths?" That's quite a
dilemma, but it shouldn't be ignored.

Rauch suggests that the
problem itself should be headed off back in the hiring process. He
writes, "The best defense you have is a set of quantitative standards
before you begin hiring. Articulate these standards when screening all
editorial applicants, repeat the discussion during each new editor's
orientation, and support all this with written job descriptions that
include quantitative expectations."

Staff Confrontations

Dovetailing
with the matter of chronic lateness is the occasional need to confront a
staff member for that or any other kind of problem. That may be the last
thing you want to do when struggling to make progress toward deadlines.
Failing to deal with the problem won't likely make it go away, however.
In fact, it's best to deal with it in a timely way.

Rauch
advises, "Effective criticism must be scheduled closely on the heels of
the infraction -- not several weeks or months later, when the next
official performance review is scheduled."

Often, however,
confronting personnel problems only occurs during an annual salary
review, Rauch laments. What's even worse, he adds, is "when the staffer
is not hearing this directly from the boss, but from the human resources
personnel."

Says Who There's a Problem?

Speaking
of confronting a staff member with a problem, what do you do if she
disputes your contention? Rauch states plainly that "written records are
essential to staff improvement and oversight."

There's a
managerial shortcoming Rauch identifies in this regard: "Many
supervising editors still prefer to rely on verbal feedback as a way to
cure an errant staff member." He admonishes, "Don't fall into this trap!"

Rauch
suggests that you "must convince a problem staff member that you are
carefully documenting performance shortfalls in meeting deadlines and
productivity levels as well as recording lateness and absence patterns."
In other words, you've got to let him know that accountability is in
place.

Rauch concludes, "If you consistently rewrite an editor's
work, that editor should be furnished with 'before' and 'after' versions
of each manuscript. An accompanying memo should spell out why the
changes were made."

Tips Galore

Rauch's book
is packed with similarly practical and effective ways of pursuing your
role as an editorial manager.

The book has fourteen chapters:

--Use
Data to Enhance Editorial Performance--Twelve Common Management
Errors--Commit to In-House Training--Quantitative Factors
Improve Staff Reviews--Fourteen Causes of Editorial Burnout--Fix
Your Editorial Marketing Arsenal--How to Assess Editorial Superiority--Compete
with Authority--Make the Most of Trade Shows--Go All Out for
Debut Issues--Frequent Research Must Be a Priority--Overcoming
Sponsored Content Hurdles--Five Challenges to Stellar Online News--Twelve
Ethical Issues You Must Address

An appendix is also included with
tips for better editorial content.

Get Serious about Editorial
Management contains 132 pages in a 5 x 8 format and is available for
purchase on
Amazon.